Chapter Four #2
His gaze softened, and he cupped my cheek. “Sweetheart, there’s no one I want except you. Since I left, I haven’t touched another woman. Hadn’t been with anyone before you in quite a while, either. I’m clean, and I was then too. Should have told you. Guess I lost my head around you.”
“Not all men like you are faithful, though, are they?” I asked.
“In my club? Yes. The Devil’s Fury, Dixie Reapers, Hades Abyss, and Reckless Kings are all the same.
Once they find a woman, they commit to her.
There are clubs where things that happen in the clubhouse don’t count.
If a man wants to fuck around with the club whores, then go home to his woman, that’s his right. ”
I winced. “I’m glad you aren’t like that.”
“Being faithful to you is important to me. It doesn’t make me a man to chase anything in a skirt.
The fact I have a dick doesn’t give me the right to fuck other women when I have you in my bed at home.
Sorry to say those guys are just assholes looking for a reason to not fully commit to a woman.
Five years from now, I’ll still want only you.
Ten years. Twenty years. Won’t matter. You’re the only one I want, Dakota. ”
I leaned across the console and kissed him softly. “Thank you. That puts me at ease. I watched some of those biker shows after you left. I didn’t like thinking of you being like that. It bothered me a lot.”
“When I say you’re my woman, it means you’re my equal in the house.
With the club, that’s another matter. I’m the President, and with that comes a certain amount of respect and expectations.
” He leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine.
“I’m in charge of everything at the Devil’s Boneyard, Dakota, which means outside our home, what I say goes, even for you.
If you disrespect me in front of the club, I’ll have to take action whether or not I want to. Understood?”
“I think so.”
He kissed me, gripping the back of my neck to hold me in place. His mouth ravaged mine. A tap on the window jolted us apart, and he glared over my shoulder. I turned my head and saw the man he’d called Carlos waiting outside the truck with a grin on his face. Charming rolled down the window.
“Get in, fucker. You’re riding in the back seat and remember what I said. Not one damn word to anyone about Dakota.”
He nodded and climbed in back. Once he was buckled in, Charming pulled out onto the street and circled back the way we’d come.
“So… is she your old lady?” Carlos asked.
I remembered that term from the shows I’d watched. I glanced at Charming to judge his reaction. He was staring at me instead of focusing on the road and I shrieked a little.
“Road! The road!”
Charming winked. “I’ve got you. As to Carlos’ question… Technically, the club has to vote old ladies in. We bend the rules from time to time, though. So yes, you’re my old lady. Soon as I know you’re safe again, you’ll also be my wife.”
My eyes went wide, and I wondered if the man was completely insane. “Wife?”
He nodded. “Told you. You’re both mine.”
“Both?” Carlos asked, leaning forward.
“I’m pregnant,” I whispered.
Carlos whistled. “Damn, Pres. When you have a secret, you go big, don’t you? No worries. Not saying a word to anyone. None of us will.”
“Us?” I asked.
“Three Prospects know about you,” Charming said. “And now Carlos knows you’re pregnant. Guess the other two should as well. Extra protection for you.”
I worried at my lip again. “You said we could set up a nursery. How are we going to do that if no one knows I’m there?”
Carlos cleared his throat. “I think I can handle that part. If you want to pick out some stuff online for a pickup from any of the area’s big box stores, I can take a truck and load it up, then tie a tarp over the back.
You’ve got a garage at your place. No reason I can’t back the truck in at night so we can unload it while no one’s paying attention. ”
“Thank you.” I turned in my seat to face him a little. “I’m sorry to put all of you in this position.”
He waved me off. “No worries. Happy to help. And just saying, but anyone comes looking for you, I have no problems making them disappear. You and that baby will stay safe, no matter what.”
For the first time in a few days, I felt like maybe I could relax a little. I was with Charming. He wasn’t angry over the baby, and he had men ready to defend me. Now I needed to find the courage to call my brother.
* * *
Charming
Getting Dakota into my house had been easier than I’d thought. The Prospects had kept their word, and no one knew her location. Not even her brother. Although, I needed to fix that soon. If Specter found out she was staying with me, and I had let him keep searching, there would be hell to pay.
Carlos had picked up the things from her motel room, checked her out, and made sure no one said anything about her having ever been there. I’d asked him to find Midge and make sure she had a chat with them too. They’d listen to her before one of us. Thankfully, she seemed to be on our side.
The first night with my woman in my bed hadn’t gone the way I’d thought it might.
Instead, she’d fallen asleep almost immediately and only woke long enough to use the bathroom twice before crawling back under the covers.
I’d left her sleeping while I made breakfast this morning.
I’d need to look online for the best foods to feed a pregnant woman and alter my grocery list. The crap I usually kept on hand wouldn’t cut it.
I smiled. A baby. I was going to have a baby, and Dakota was mine to keep. I felt like the luckiest bastard ever. After I plated the eggs, bacon, and toast, I went to check on her. The sound of retching in the bathroom had me quickening my pace. I rushed to her side, holding her hair back.
She whimpered and gave me the most pathetic look. I glanced around the bathroom, wondering what I could do for her. Opening the cabinet, I yanked out a washcloth and wet it, then handed it to her. She wiped her face, then her mouth.
“Morning sickness?” I asked.
She nodded. “Sometimes it lingers for hours, or even the entire day.”
“If you think you can eat something, I have breakfast on the table. We can order some groceries and I’ll ask Carlos to grab them for us. This morning, we have eggs, bacon, and toast.”
She turned a little green and threw up again. When she’d finished, I helped her stand and waited while she brushed her teeth. Taking her hand, I led her to the kitchen and pulled out a chair for her after pushing her plate away.
“Tell me what you can eat,” I said.
“Maybe the toast. If that stays down, I can try the eggs. I don’t think the bacon will work, though. The grease would probably make me sick again.”
“All right.” I went to the sink and opened the cabinet beside it, taking down another plate.
I put her toast, and mine, on there before handing it to her, then I got the butter and some jam from the fridge in case she wanted them.
I made more toast for myself and added her bacon to my plate.
I watched her like a hawk while she nibbled the toast. When it seemed to stay down, I nudged the plate of eggs a little closer.
“Thanks for taking care of me,” she said, her cheeks turning a light pink.
“You might be the one who has to carry the baby, but it’s my kid too. Why wouldn’t I take care of their mother? Besides, I’ve been wishing for weeks that you were here, and now you are.”
“Does your club realize you’re this sappy and sweet?” she asked.
“No, and I’d like to keep it that way. In fact, most of them think I’m a complete asshole.”
She ate a bite of egg. “I have a hard time picturing you that way. From the moment we met, you seemed to race to my rescue. How can anyone think you’re not sweet and kind?”
I finished my food and shoved my plate aside, folding my arms and leaning them on the table. “I’ve been a dick to several of my brothers, particularly when it comes to their women. In some cases, they needed a kick in the ass, but I’m not sure they saw it that way.”
“You have a lot of responsibility here, don’t you? Your brothers. Their women.” She glanced toward the windows, which I’d made sure no one could see inside. “And the children. I heard some when I woke up. Out of all those people, who takes care of you?”
I studied her quietly. No one had ever asked me that before. “I don’t guess anyone does. My brothers have my back if shit goes sideways, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.”
She shook her head. “No, it isn’t. Don’t get me wrong.
I’m glad to know someone is watching out for you when something bad happens.
I meant more in the way of who takes care of you if you’re sick?
If you’re the one who needs a kick in the ass over a woman, who would do it?
Do you have a best friend you can talk to when something’s bothering you? ”
“Do you?” I countered, feeling uncomfortable with her line of questioning. I’d had friends. Then I became President of the club. Now I had people who counted on me. Yeah, I still considered them my friends, but things were different.
“No.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to poke at you. That wasn’t my intention at all.”
“I know.” I reached over and took her hand. “Guess I got a little defensive. Truth is, with my position, I don’t want the lines to blur. There can’t be confusion when I’m talking to someone and need to clarify if it’s me talking as their friend or their President.”
“Sounds lonely,” she said.
“It can be. For a while, I eased that loneliness with the women at the clubhouse. After a while, that didn’t satisfy me anymore. They all want something. Usually they’re hoping to become someone’s old lady. I wasn’t about to get trapped by any of them.”
“Instead, you knocked me up and now you’re stuck with me.”